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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — in music
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bore — to tire
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bore — to drill
  17. court — of a king
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com